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A review of Texas elections has identified thousands of illegal immigrants on the state’s voter rolls, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said Monday.
Nelson said a cross-check of state voter records found more than 2,700 potential illegal immigrants registered to vote, leading to a review of eligibility in all 254 counties.
The data comes from a comprehensive comparison of Texas’ 18 million registered voters with federal citizenship records in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database, according to the secretary of state’s office.
“Only eligible U.S. citizens can participate in our elections,” Nelson said. “The Trump administration’s decision to give states open and direct access to this data set for the first time was a game-changer, and we appreciate the partnership with the federal government to verify the citizenship of those on our voter rolls and maintain accurate voter rolls.”
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A voter wearing a protective mask and gloves signs a document at a manual mail-in ballot delivery center in Austin, Texas. (Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The investigation showed, after conducting the SAVE cross-check, state officials were able to identify 2,724 potential noncitizens whose voter records were sent to local counties for further investigation.
This process falls under Chapter 16 of the Texas Election Code, which requires counties to verify the eligibility of each voter and remove verified noncitizens from the rolls.
Nelson said the review is part of an effort to maintain an accurate voter roll and safeguard election integrity ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
“Everyone’s right to vote is sacred and must be protected,” Nelson said. “We encourage counties to conduct rigorous investigations to determine whether a voter is ineligible – as they do with any other data set we provide.”
Each flagged voter will receive a notice from their county registrar giving them 30 days to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. If a voter does not respond, their registration will be canceled, but it can be reinstated immediately once proof of citizenship is provided.
Nelson’s statement said verified noncitizens who voted in previous Texas elections will be referred to the attorney general’s office for further review and possible prosecution.
The announcement comes amid growing national scrutiny of voter rolls, with several states – including Georgia, Arizona and Florida – having conducted similar audits of voter eligibility.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said that since Senate Bill 1 was signed into law, Texas has removed more than 1 million ineligible or obsolete voter registrations from the state’s voter rolls, calling the effort critical to safeguarding Texans’ right to vote.
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Texas has confirmed that non-citizens who voted in previous elections will be referred to the attorney general’s office for further review and possible prosecution. (Getty Images)
“These reforms have led to the removal of more than a million ineligible people from our voter rolls over the past three years, including non-citizens, deceased voters and people who have moved to another state,” Abbott said. “The Secretary of State and county election registrars have an ongoing legal obligation to review voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, and refer any potential illegal votes to the Attorney General’s Office and local authorities for investigation and prosecution. Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated. We will continue to actively safeguard the sacred right of Texans to vote while aggressively protecting our elections against illegal voting. “
Abbott called the initiative proof that Texas “leads the nation in election integrity.”
A breakdown of information was released by the Secretary of State’s office showing Harris County with the highest number of potential non-citizens at 362, followed by Dallas County (277), Bexar County (201) and El Paso County (165).
Smaller counties, including Andrews, Llano and Cooke, reported fewer than ten reported records.
In total, all 254 Texas counties were included in the SAVE database review. Counties began sending verification notices this week as part of the 30-day review process.
In June, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced that she had referred the matter to the attorney general’s office to investigate the names of 33 potential non-citizens who voted in the November 2024 general election.
Nelson’s statement said the referral came weeks after Texas gained access to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database.
“Having access to this database was a game changer. Not only were we able to identify people who should not have voted in the last election, but we were also able to confirm the naturalization of dozens more,” said Secretary Nelson.
Cross-checking was made possible after the Trump administration first granted states direct, free access to the federal SAVE database.
The tool allows election officials to confirm voters’ citizenship against immigration and naturalization records.
The release also said Texas was among the first states to join a pilot program with DHS, USCIS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to improve the functionality of the database.
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“We are only in the early stages of this pilot program, but we are already seeing promising results. This may be the most current and accurate dataset available in citizenship verification,” said Secretary Nelson.
County clerks are expected to complete their investigations by early December, with formal referrals and potential referrals to follow.
The secretary of state’s office said the review will continue with periodic checks against federal databases to ensure accuracy.
“The SAVE database has proven to be a critically important data set and one of many that we will continue to use in Texas to ensure that only qualified voters cast ballots in our elections,” Nelson said.
